Crosby helped Malkin move past Olympic disappointment

The failure of Team Russia to succeed on its home ice during the Sochi Olympics has already been dissected and poured over enough, but one of the group's key hockey team members revealed Saturday that it was a Pittsburgh Penguins teammate and Team Canada member who really helped him get over the failure.

Evgeni Malkin had a pair of goals Saturday in a four-point effort, as the Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime. He also scored twice a few nights ago in Detroit and has fired 12 shots on net in the past few outings.

Needless to say, his game is coming around.

Here's how Malkin explained the turnaround following Saturday's tilt.

Malkin: "I feel better every game. I wasn't playing good after the Olympics. Talked a little bit with Sid, he helped me a lot…” (1 of 3)

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 22, 2025

Malkin on Olympics: "We lost, you know, and he [Crosby] supported me and helped me…” (2 of 3)

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 22, 2025

Malkin: “...and after we talked, I felt so much better. And started playing better.” (3 of 3)

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 22, 2025

Let’s all take a moment to commend Evgeni Malkin for his unreal kick-tastic celly on goal 2: http://t.co/Xo7q9e5maB

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 22, 2025

Crosby on Malkin’s game: “He was flying, just dominated the whole night… It’s fun to see your teammates play like that and get rewarded."

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 22, 2025

Crosby explains what prompted the chat, as relayed via The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

“I just wanted to see how things were going — obviously, I knew it was probably difficult coming off the Olympics (and) having those expectations,” Crosby said. “There was enough time that had passed that I felt comfortable talking to him about it. It's not something I wanted to bring up right away.

“I think we all knew it was disappointing for him. He's not the kind of guy who's going to go look for someone and start talking about it. Just to kind of talk things out sometimes helps.”

Source: Rob Rossi, Tribune-Review